mgoblog - uniformzhttp://mgoblog.com/taxonomy/term/14106/0
enUnverified Voracity Has Many Hueshttp://mgoblog.com/content/unverified-voracity-has-many-hues
<p><strong>WHAT COLOR IS THIS MAN</strong>. Adidas <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/7/23/9020461/nebraska-alternate-uniforms-adidas">released some uniformz</a> for Nebraska that are as goofy as they usually are. I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about what color this person is. </p>
<p><img title="Screen_Shot_2015-07-23_at_9.15.29_AM.0[1]" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Screen_Shot_2015-07-23_at_9.15.29_AM.0[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/3cc7f73ac03a_96F9/Screen_Shot_2015-07-23_at_9.15.29_AM.01.png" width="474" height="564" /></p>
<p>Look at this person's face. That's weird. I guess he's put eyeblack everywhere in an effort to look like a big and tough and maybe remind people of the Ultimate Warrior. You can see that at the edge of his face his skin tone goes back to the lighter shade of his nose. </p>
<p>Now look at this person's arms. </p>
<p>!!!</p>
<p><strong>The Braxton move</strong>. If you've followed the first few rounds of Draftageddon you know that Ohio State is basically 1969 Ohio State again. So they've <a href="http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/07/23/braxton-miller-ohio-state-move-wide-receiver">moved a guy who was on Heisman short lists last year as a QB to WR</a>, just cuz:</p>
<blockquote><p>Miller’s fallback plan has become a reality, as he told SI.com on Thursday night that he plans to start the 2015 season playing H-Back—a hybrid receiver position—for the Buckeyes. Miller hasn’t completely closed the door on playing quarterback, as he estimates that he’ll spend 80% of the time during training camp at receiver and 20% with the quarterbacks. But Miller said with more than two months until he’ll be completely healthy at quarterback, he’s approaching this season as primarily a wide receiver.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&quot;H-back&quot; means a different thing in Urban Meyer's offense than it does in Hoke or Harbaugh's. This is not Wyatt Shallman. This is Percy Harvin. </p>
<p>That does chop down on the &quot;yes, but&quot; Michigan fans are preparing after they saw Devin Gardner's somewhat amateurish attempt to play WR. Miller's going to be an option on a bunch of running plays and get targeted on screens. He is not going to be asked to track balls over his shoulder after lining up on a cornerback—at least not much. That makes his move depressingly plausible.</p>
<p>It also opens up the kind of trick plays you last saw eight-year-olds come up with at the family picnic. Dude. </p>
<p><strong>I have an easy way to fix this</strong>. Nobody knows what a catch is anymore. I don't have to tell Lions fans this, of course. Michigan's also had their brushes with the gray area against <a href="http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/07/15/texas-longhorns-steve-patterson-change-personal-style">Virginia Tech</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQS9nnxKrXU">Iowa</a>. The NFL's attempt to fix things: </p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Who is drafting these rules for the NFL? Just very unclear, poor draftsmanship. <a href="http://t.co/Jes6nEnQfu">http://t.co/Jes6nEnQfu</a> <a href="http://t.co/Hx4NmVBXQy">pic.twitter.com/Hx4NmVBXQy</a></p>
<p> — Chris B. Brown (@smartfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/smartfootball/status/624379511824609280">July 24, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>The problem here is that this is not an algorithm for determining if it is a catch. You need a function. This is an NFL function, FWIW.</p>
<p>function isitacatch(feet_down, touchy_feely_vars){</p>
<p>if (feet_down &lt; 2)</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; return false;</p>
<p>if (feet_down &gt; 2)</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; return true;</p>
<p>if (feet_down == 2)</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; did the ball touch the ground? return false; <br />&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; did the receiver bobble the ball such that he had to re-catch it while out of bounds? <br />&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; return false;</p>
<p>return true;</p>
<p>}</p>
<p>College version is the same except you return false only on feet_down &lt; 1 and check the touchy-feely on 1 or 2. Also I know you don't need the last if statement. </p>
<p>The VT and Iowa plays above should not have to go to extraordinarily long replays subject to announcer debate. Both of them touched the ground. You have one job as a receiver: don't let it touch the ground.</p>
<p>At some point you have accomplished that job. That point is currently determined by feelingsball instead of &quot;you took another step,&quot; which is pretty close to definitive. Engineers should write these things, not lawyers. </p>
<p><strong>Gary Andersen sipping tea</strong>. Wisconsin has <a href="http://host.madison.com/sports/college/football/badgers-football-report-top-recruit-jordan-stevenson-denied-admission-to/article_7faa172a-31ae-11e5-b243-9383445f9d35.html">shot down</a> one of their top recruits: </p>
<blockquote><p>Incoming freshman running back Jordan Stevenson was denied admission to the University of Wisconsin, according to a report by 247sports.com.</p>
<p>Stevenson, a four-star prospect who was considered one of the Badgers’ top recruits for the 2015 class, confirmed on Twitter that his recruitment is open to any Division I program.</p>
<p>“#Badgernation Thanks for all the love also all the support through all I have been through much love,” Stevenson tweeted.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That's a bizarre situation. Players do occasionally get rejected by the NCAA clearinghouse, but in those cases the player heads to JUCO. Stevenson is apparently trying to find a landing spot this fall. And when serious academic schools who are serious reject players for reasons other than &quot;you are literally not eligible to play&quot;, they do it before, say, late July. </p>
<p>If Stevenson does end up on campus this fall (Arkansas?), Gary Andersen's shocking jump to Oregon State will look pretty justified. It's one thing to deny entry to a player. It's another to do it now, months after he signed a LOI. </p>
<p><strong>The wave, 1984</strong>. They were super excited about new technology back in the day: </p>
<p align="center"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/79soqk-Oxts" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_(audience)">According to Wikipedia</a>, Michigan brought the wave back from a game against Washington in 1983. A letter to the editor claimed that it stuck because </p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;There are three reasons why the wave caught on at Michigan Wolverine games: It gave the fans something to do when the team was leading its opponent by 40 points, it was thrilling and exciting to see 105,000 people in the stands moving and cheering, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Schembechler">Bo Schembechler</a> asked us not to do it.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From Michigan it spread to the Tigers, and when the Tigers won the World Series that year it was on TV a ton. The rest is history.</p>
<p><strong>Indiana, 1980</strong>. Not competitive. </p>
<p align="center"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zPanbJdo560" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Etc.:</strong> Roundtree <a href="http://www.maizenbrew.com/2015/7/23/9027527/michigan-receiver-roy-roundtree-coach-csu-pueblo-football">gets a job at CSU-Pueblo</a> with Jeff Hecklinski.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/unverified-voracity-has-many-hues#comments1980 indianabraxton millerfootball rules pedantloladidasnebraskaohio statethe waveuniformzunverified voracitywisconsinFri, 24 Jul 2015 16:55:32 +0000Brian99089 at http://mgoblog.comThe Best of the Only Incompetent Germanshttp://mgoblog.com/content/best-only-incompetent-germans
<p>It started off so well.</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/20082.jpg"><img title="20082" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="20082" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/20082_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="341" /></a></p>
<p>Mantras sewn into the fabric, apparently less intrusive piping, nods to the helmet stripes. The only ominous sign was marketing people who insisted on brand-specific copy errors.<a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/Untitled_0.jpg"><img title="Untitled" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Untitled" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/Untitled_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="116" /></a></p>
<p>Then they tried to lick our moisture:</p>
<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RP2mnkRGKH0" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>…and things began to fall apart.</p>
<p><strong>[After the jump: crimes against fashion, crimes against yellow, crimes against offense, crimes against eyes, crimes against humans]</strong></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><p><strong>The Battle for Maize</strong></p>
<p>The first sign that not all was right with the maize and blue was something not right with the maize and blue, specifically with the continuing highlighter-fication of &quot;maize&quot;:</p>
<p><img style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" alt="" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA6HCvWWAAIjSH5.jpg" /></p>
<p>Those are from user Wolverine Devotee's <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/adidas-maize-vs-nike-maize" target="_blank">screengrabs of t-shirts</a> in online stores. Nailing down exact shades of then and now is impossible because the vagaries of cameras/lighting/fabrics etc. I submit for evidence that my c. 1999 gameday t-shirt looks just like that next to students in modern official shirts.</p>
<p>Our best evidence of a dramatic yellow shift was pre-2012 banner versus various teams (2009 below) running under it:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/20090926_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team_enters_the_field_with_marching_band_salute.jpg"><img title="20090926_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team_enters_the_field_with_marching_band_salute" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="20090926_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team_enters_the_field_with_marching_band_salute" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/20090926_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team_enters_the_field_with_marching_band_salute_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="377" /></a></p>
<p>Iowa games, since their yellow is also meant to be a reference to corn, are a good opportunity for comparison:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/8194557452_a93e7b3423_k.jpg"><img title="8194557452_a93e7b3423_k" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="8194557452_a93e7b3423_k" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/8194557452_a93e7b3423_k_thumb.jpg" width="454" height="351" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Anecdotally,</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/ypxQnstl.png"><img title="ypxQnstl" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="ypxQnstl" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/ypxQnstl_thumb.png" width="507" height="362" /></a>.</p>
<p align="left">This went back before Adidas. It also became much worse under them. Two years ago we started to hear rumblings that Brandon wanted the highlighter creep to stop; obviously it didn't.</p>
<p align="left">Poor Upchurch had to requisition a new lens because the uniforms were too bright for his camera. But the Only Incompetent Germans wouldn't be happy until even the retinas of human eyes were burned:</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/8448642683_0bc2fded3b_o.jpg"><img title="8448642683_0bc2fded3b_o" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="8448642683_0bc2fded3b_o" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/8448642683_0bc2fded3b_o_thumb.jpg" width="172" height="255" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/04-8545657373_c6108e153e_o.jpg"><img title="04 8545657373_c6108e153e_o" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="04 8545657373_c6108e153e_o" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/04-8545657373_c6108e153e_o_thumb.jpg" width="384" height="256" /></a></p>
<p align="center">-------------------------------</p>
<p><strong>The Basic Function of Clothing Provisioning</strong></p>
<p>Before getting into aesthetics, an athletic clothing manufacturer has only a few functional things it needs to accomplish. It must prevent exposure and indecency, and to their credit we didn't have any Wolverines freeze to death or show anything more risqué than our athletes' spectacular abs. However there were a few rather basic things that did not go well:</p>
<p><strong>1. Have numbers that are legible outside the boardroom.</strong></p>
<p>The uniformz they debuted for Alabama were a bit heavy on the yellow and forever associated with Jerryworld. So alternates for the ensuing Outback Bowl, in addition to matte helmets, went blue on the shoulders and &quot;yellow&quot; with the numbers. The result(you may not want to leave this running, especially if your name is Vincent Smith):</p>
<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QJCpoJFy-3g" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>The UFR from that game (yes, Brian actually did a losing bowl game UFR) gave up on identifying who's who.</p>
<p><strong>2. Put all the players in the same uniform </strong>which <strong>3. Doesn't hinder their play:</strong></p>
<p>From <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/mailbag-tacopants-flesh-esoteric-two-pointers-zombie-armpit-jerseys" target="_blank">a mailbag in 2011</a>, emphasis mine:</p>
<blockquote><p>On the armpit jerseys never dying.<br />
<blockquote>
<p>Any thoughts or ideas as to why the defensive linemen switched to the road jerseys of the RR regime in the second half with the yellow piping?&#160; Also, Denard was wearing that one of those jerseys on the last drive.&#160; I like the look of this year's road jerseys without the yellow piping but wondering if if it is a fit or comfort issue although this year's home jerseys looked like they have the same fit with the wide, open arm-pit area.</p>
</blockquote>
</p><p>Let's let another emailer answer this for me:</p>
<blockquote><p>You've probably observed the same, but there are issues with the new Adidas techfits.<strong> I've seen them getting ripped to shreds</strong> at various points this season, and so you have <strong>guys like rvb, martin, roh, switch to last year's model in previous games</strong>. They were presumably asked to wear the new ones tonight given the more drastic change in appearance with elimination of the thick yellow piping. However, we've already seen rvb change back anyway despite the old piping.</p>
<p>I wouldn't normally care about this except for fact that <strong>underlying issue appears to be their tendency to be grabbed in a game-impacting way</strong>. Even fitz changed to the old jersey last game against Minn after being dragged down by the new techfit variety. We've seen the same thing happen to denard, although he hasn't switched. This is more annoying than anything else, especially to see potential big(ger) gains get stopped shorter than they should because some defender who was beat desperately was able to get a few fingers on some cloth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We have seen a lot of guys dragged down by the jersey this year, haven't we? Could the Nike zealots have a point all of a sudden?</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="left">Apparently yes.</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/6202496310_15efa1a34c_b_0.jpg"><img title="6202496310_15efa1a34c_b" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="6202496310_15efa1a34c_b" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/6202496310_15efa1a34c_b_thumb_0.jpg" width="454" height="400" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Clothing that contributed to fewer yards for Denard are tragedy enough, especially once his rushing yards for a quarterback record is assailed. But they also might have cost Michigan a game:</p>
<p align="left"><img title="PX00122_9[1]" border="0" alt="PX00122_9[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/UV_12E38/PX00122_91_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="431" /></p>
<p align="left">The turning point in the in-state rivalry was the moment Michigan came out in bumblebee clown costumes a seven-year-old wouldn't trick-or-treat in. Later when everyone in college football said it's pretty stupid we got a Sugar Bowl invite, we couldn't really argue, because that game and those uniforms were prima facie evidence that Michigan had surrendered its already tenuous claims to cachet.</p>
<p align="left">The outrage over the ugliest outfits in the history of the program quadrupled when it was revealed that Michigan's coaches meant to change the game plan from &quot;let's pretend Denard is Joe Montana&quot; when they came out for warmups and found a <a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6808846977_6ba732dc22_o.jpg" target="_blank">trash tornado</a>. When the team returned to their locker room, they found these travesties, and spent all that time getting everyone changed. Then they tried to pass deep 70% of the time.</p>
<p align="left">Adidas's accomplices in 2011 Michigan State have been banished to Toys 'R' Us (Dave Brandon), San Jose State (Al Borges), and a national tour of spring practices to learn about offensive theories other than &quot;Brawndo is what plants crave!&quot; (Brady Hoke). In 13 months the final perp will be gone.</p>
<p align="left"><strong>4. Also this clothing ought not to come apart faster than a Wal-Mart pillowcase</strong>,<strong> </strong>such as when the basketball team went to Minneapolis in 2013 and <a href="http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/1-daniel-wasserman-what-i-learned-adidas-minneapolis-18" target="_blank">wound up in rags</a> by the second half:</p>
<blockquote><p align="left">Trey Burke’s No. 3 was the first to rip, so he played most of the game wearing No. 12, which was also ripped later in the game. So after Jordan Morgan used Michigan’s second and only other extra jersey — the redshirt junior played the second half wearing No. 30 — Burke and, later, Caris LeVert were forced to play with holes in their uniforms.</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="left">If you're going to have tear-aways, at least send extras.</p>
<p align="left"><img title="gr3[1]" style="float: none; margin-left: auto; display: block; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="gr3[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_12581/gr31.jpg" width="482" height="320" /></p>
<p align="left">The same thing happened a couple of years ago in the rainy Northwestern football game, when half the team was wearing their old jerseys by the end of it.</p>
<p align="left"><strong>5.</strong> <strong>Actually, sending them at all would be a good start. </strong>Remember the quarterbacks going through spring in (Nike) <a href="http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2013/04/michigans_orange_qb_jerseys_we.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WolverinesSports+%28Michigan+Wolverines+Sports%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">Oregon State jerseys</a> with hastily-patched fake Adidas logos?</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/12559729-large.jpg"><img title="12559729-large" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="12559729-large" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/12559729-large_thumb.jpg" width="384" height="317" /></a></p>
<p align="left"><strong>6. Pay people who work for you. </strong>Unfortunately they're not the only clothing manufacturer that gets into labor disputes with Indonesians, but usually they're not <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/dollars/post/_/id/3390/why-are-colleges-at-odds-with-adidas" target="_blank">going to the mattresses over $1.8 million</a> when their imagined loophole to get out of severance was laughed out of various courts.</p>
<p align="left">And I know you're not allowed to pay players, but have some basic human decency to, for example, know not to <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/22001450/it-appears-adidas-is-seeking-to-profit-off-kevin-wares-injury" target="_blank">capitalize off of injury to one of them</a>:</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/Louisville-Adidas_thumb.png"><img title="Louisville Adidas_thumb" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Louisville Adidas_thumb" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/Louisville-Adidas_thumb_thumb.png" width="504" height="323" /></a></p>
<p align="center">-------------------------------</p>
<p align="left"><strong>Uniformz Department: Football</strong></p>
<p align="left">The home uniforms that Michigan hasn't substantially changed since Yost were thankfully left alone except for subtle growth in logo size. Numbers appeared on the helmets for UTL1, finally got changed to the same yellow as the rest of the uniform for the 2012 spring game, and disappeared after that season. Adidas's take on the aways was to go with a thicker pipes at first, then those diminished in favor of a blue collar. I was fine with this:</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/10258860835_3fa52b0c36_z.jpg"><img title="10258860835_3fa52b0c36_z" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="10258860835_3fa52b0c36_z" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/10258860835_3fa52b0c36_z_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="378" /></a></p>
<p align="left">&#160;</p>
<p align="left">But of course there were a few times they spun out alternates. The bumblebee travesty was discussed above. Those were inspired by the UTL things…</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/michigan-uniforms.jpg"><img title="Michigan football defensive end Ryan Van Bergen models the retro jersey to be worn for the Michigan vs. Notre Dame " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Michigan football defensive end Ryan Van Bergen models the retro jersey to be worn for the Michigan vs. Notre Dame " src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/michigan-uniforms_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="376" |="|" Cesere="Cesere" J.="J." Angela="Angela" 2011.="2011." 10,="10," June="June" on="on" Mich.="Mich." Arbor,="Arbor," Ann="Ann" in="in" Stadium="Stadium" Michigan="Michigan" at="at" conference="conference" press="press" a="a" during="during" Lights?="Lights?" the="the" Under="Under" annarbor.com?="AnnArbor.com?" /></a></p>
<p align="left">…marketed as &quot;throwbacks,&quot; because the marketing plan for uniformz does not comprehend how the most radical change to a basic kit in 100 years was deciding to wear helmets. The &quot;M&quot; in the middle was a design element from turn of the century letterman sweaters:</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/1280px-1897_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team.jpg"><img title="1280px-1897_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="1280px-1897_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/1280px-1897_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team_thumb.jpg" width="404" height="312" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><font size="2"><em>1897 team/Bentley</em></font></p>
<p align="left">The shoulders stripes were pure fiction. UTL ended well and from angles you couldn't see the stripes the uniforms were at least tolerable. Thousands of angry fans after the MSU debacle probably saved us from more of this until the Sugar Bowl.</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/uspw_5862986.jpg"><img title="uspw_5862986" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="uspw_5862986" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/uspw_5862986_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="395" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Other than a pretty crowded chest and too-thin numbers these were actually pretty well received. Take note, Nike redesign team.</p>
<p align="left">Dallas gave them an excuse to futz again:</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/rn_u_alabama-michigan_ms_09-1.jpg"><img title="rn_u_alabama-michigan_ms_09-1" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="rn_u_alabama-michigan_ms_09-1" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/rn_u_alabama-michigan_ms_09-1_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="354" /></a></p>
<p align="left">&#160;</p>
<p> <a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/79320101_thumb.jpg"><img title="79320101_thumb" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="79320101_thumb" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/79320101_thumb_thumb.jpg" width="146" height="240" /></a>Other than the silly mitts the above weren't so bad except the shade of yellow in sterile Jerryworld made sure that top stripe glowed like the hoops things. Purists cared that the helmet stripes met in the back. They cared more when the helmets went matte in the Outback Bowl:<br />
</p><p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb199.png"><img title="image_thumb199" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="image_thumb199" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb199_thumb.png" width="503" height="249" /></a></p>
<p align="left">As mentioned above, the bigger complaint was yellow numbers are illegible on a white background except on pore-o-vision. The backlash was apparently strong enough that they left us alone for 2013, even UTL II. Stuff they did went back to subtle and underneath, e.g. Desert Storm camo undershirts and bandanas for The Game 2013.</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/11143768384_2ce9b17694_o.jpg"><img title="DSC_5211" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="DSC_5211" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/11143768384_2ce9b17694_o_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="377" /></a></p>
<p align="left">But the empire struck back with the 2014 night game. If the one repeated demand from the fanbase was &quot;DON'T EVER WEAR ALL MAIZE&quot;, what was clear to Adidas was they didn't say &quot;all blue.&quot; Before we get to the blue pants, they showed us the shirt: </p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/341497-675x380.jpg"><img title="341497-675x380" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="341497-675x380" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/341497-675x380_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="319" /></a></p>
<p>Neon runway tape numbers, more tape on the shoulders, and between them there are marks like our guys were run over by the airplane itself. The M's on the undershirts had lightning bolts on them, because while people with eyes might find this tremendously tacky, the players whose scholarships can be pulled if they speak out against the administration universally agreed that they came to Michigan for the chance to play with lightning M's on their sleeves.</p>
<p>Also blue pants.</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/10525933_10153036418103625_5962590154467877844_n.jpg"><img title="10525933_10153036418103625_5962590154467877844_n" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="10525933_10153036418103625_5962590154467877844_n" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/10525933_10153036418103625_5962590154467877844_n_thumb.jpg" width="484" height="484" /></a></p>
<p>By that point outrage was muted since fans were more preoccupied with deciding whether &quot;supporting the players&quot; meant firing Dave Brandon or lynching him.</p>
<p><strong>Uniformz: Hoops Edition</strong></p>
<p>Complaining about basketball is several orders of magnitude quieter. Fewer people watch, more games are played, and the game itself is less about tradition. That didn't prevent some weird:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/101012_SPT_MBBall_MediaDay_MRM_07_fullsize.jpg"><img title="101012_SPT_MBBall_MediaDay_MRM_07_fullsize" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="101012_SPT_MBBall_MediaDay_MRM_07_fullsize" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/101012_SPT_MBBall_MediaDay_MRM_07_fullsize_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="376" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><font size="2"><em>A commenter will inevitably say the socks and shoes aren't as highlighter as they appear on my screen's settings and anyway they like them that color.</em></font></p>
<p>On the other hand the &quot;throwbacks&quot; were actually throwbacks, both the beloved '89 versions:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/unnamed-3-738x420.jpg"><img title="unnamed-3-738x420" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="unnamed-3-738x420" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/unnamed-3-738x420_thumb.jpg" width="485" height="278" /></a></p>
<p>And my personal favorite, when they went back to the clean look of the Cazzie Russell era:</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/usp-ncaa-basketball_-penn-state-at-michigan-x-large.jpg"><img title="usp-ncaa-basketball_-penn-state-at-michigan-x-large" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="usp-ncaa-basketball_-penn-state-at-michigan-x-large" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/usp-ncaa-basketball_-penn-state-at-michigan-x-large_thumb.jpg" width="322" height="244" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/crussell.jpg"><img title="crussell" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="crussell" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/crussell_thumb.jpg" width="205" height="244" /></a></p>
<p>But it's not like any clothing manufacturer to be granted some leeway and not try to find just how far it stretches. So for one Wisconsin game, they <a href="http://www.umhoops.com/2013/03/15/michigan-to-wear-adidas-blue-camouflage-uniforms-against-wisconsin/" target="_blank">tried ZUBAZZ</a>:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/BFaF56MCIAIe5TJ1_thumb1.png"><img title="BFaF56MCIAIe5TJ1_thumb1" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="BFaF56MCIAIe5TJ1_thumb1" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/BFaF56MCIAIe5TJ1_thumb1_thumb.png" width="354" height="448" /></a></p>
<p>Fortunately these were nixed after one game so the yellow version was never more than an extremely overpriced online store item:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/large_upload.jpg"><img title="large_upload" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="large_upload" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/large_upload_thumb.jpg" width="182" height="284" /></a></p>
<p>The normal kits were an homage to the Fab five and thus pleasantly boring; I liked the darker navy they tried, but would have liked the 1990s to have ended before the hypercolor calves and shoulders:</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_419.png"><img title="image" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb_470.png" width="211" height="328" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_420.png"><img title="image" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb_471.png" width="312" height="328" /></a></p>
<p>Each year when March came closer we would fear the coming press release announcing whatever design all the Adidas schools had to push through various playoffs. I used to work for an environmental industry trade magazine, and started out by writing the new products sections. Companies would send me their jargon-y descriptions of RO filters, WESPs and RTOs, and being the <em>Daily </em>snob I was, I spent hours of my young career trying to turn those into English. At least they were selling complex equipment to engineers; I can't imagine what Adidas was doing with many of the same words in their <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/tournament-uniformz-unveiled" target="_blank">&quot;Made in March Uniform System&quot; press release</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>…uniforms feature a functional <strong>perforated print pattern</strong> along the leg of the <strong>stretch woven short</strong> to <strong>enhance breathability</strong> and <strong>ventilation</strong>, keeping players cool as the clock winds down. Adidas' <strong>quick-drying jersey technology</strong> found in current NBA uniforms along with <strong>ClimaCool zones on the chest</strong>, back and side move heat and moisture away from the body to keep the jersey light and dry as players sweat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/12973516075_d83a4c8165.jpg"><img title="12973516075_d83a4c8165" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="12973516075_d83a4c8165" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/12973516075_d83a4c8165_thumb.jpg" width="500" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>ClimaCool quick-drying perforated print pattern technology meets best available achievement standards and is an ideal solution for your water/wastewater needs.</p>
<p>Mercifully last year's March Marketing shorts didn't make it past the Big Ten Tournament:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/USATSI_8439252-675x380.jpg"><img title="Mar 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard/forward Zak Irvin (21) shoots past Illinois Fighting Illini forward Austin Colbert (31) during the second half in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Mar 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard/forward Zak Irvin (21) shoots past Illinois Fighting Illini forward Austin Colbert (31) during the second half in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/USATSI_8439252-675x380_thumb.jpg" width="404" height="229" /></a></p>
<p>Before we depart Crisler, something should be said about the endless ammunition Adidas provided for the Izzone with the generic, occasionally not grammatical warmup tees:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_421.png"><img title="image" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb_472.png" width="232" height="244" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_422.png"><img title="image" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb_473.png" width="146" height="244" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/trey-burke5.jpg"><img title="trey-burke5" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="trey-burke5" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/trey-burke5_thumb.jpg" width="155" height="244" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/michigan-michigan-state-shirt1.jpg"><img title="michigan-michigan-state-shirt1" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="michigan-michigan-state-shirt1" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/michigan-michigan-state-shirt1_thumb.jpg" width="286" height="244" /></a></p>
<p>As for hockey, Adidas couldn't decide what they wanted to be before handing off to subsidiary Reebok, who took things in a very Swedish direction:</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/BuzSXNqCcAAPT3H_0.png"><img title="BuzSXNqCcAAPT3H" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="BuzSXNqCcAAPT3H" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/BuzSXNqCcAAPT3H_thumb_0.png" width="463" height="456" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/ihm-090814_250_0.jpg"><img title="Basic RGB" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Basic RGB" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/ihm-090814_250_thumb_0.jpg" width="244" height="196" /></a></p>
<p>Each line above is a season starting in 2010-'11; the last pic is last year when they finally settled on the clean block M design favored by everybody (including in that informal poll I conducted in my diarist days). The white they made an off-white that was too white so it just looked kind of dirty.</p>
<p>They did another for the Soldier Field game nobody went to.</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_423.png"><img title="image" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb_474.png" width="564" height="380" /></a></p>
<p>Adidas/Reebok's major contribution, other than a Red-as-a-player-era throwback that was cool until getting a block M in Dave Brandon's Block M Brandification Mandate of 2012, was the infamously hideous Big Chill Wolverbear:</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/sports-k_2272_21230311.jpg"><img title="sports-k_2272_21230311" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="sports-k_2272_21230311" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/sports-k_2272_21230311_thumb.jpg" width="504" height="272" /></a></p>
<p>This sort of thing you could get away with in a postwar period when uniforms changes were made by the coach's wife and her sewing machine.</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/3716181385_f3467c4b2f_o.jpg"><img title="3716181385_f3467c4b2f_o" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="3716181385_f3467c4b2f_o" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/3716181385_f3467c4b2f_o_thumb.jpg" width="204" height="254" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><em><font size="2">[Michiganensian]</font></em></p>
<p align="left">When recreated by computer-guided lasers campy becomes grotesque. I will say of all the hockey outfits that have come and gone in the last 20 years, my favorites are the clean, modern maize:</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_424.png"><img title="image" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb_475.png" width="454" height="355" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Nike caveat: </strong>Ohio State wore at least as ridiculous stuff as anything above, and more often, and you have to figure Michigan will have as much say as the Buckeyes. At least half of the &quot;uniformz&quot; tag on MGoBlog is talking about another team, for example Ohio State's <a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/image_thumb_184.png" rel="lightbox">weird hockey things</a> and colored helmets, and MSU wearing chrome hats and occasionally <a href="https://blog-blogmediainc.netdna-ssl.com/SportsBlogcom/filewarehouse/45473/50bcbaa47e5481e3e7a2f374c77fe13a.jpg" target="_blank">dressing like USF or Baylor</a> when Nike insisted they have a third color.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/best-only-incompetent-germans#commentsadidasadidas sucks for a new reasonhokepointsonly incompetent germansuniformsuniformzTue, 07 Jul 2015 18:32:47 +0000Seth98705 at http://mgoblog.comMailbag: Recruiting Outperformance, APR and Hardship Logistics, Burn This Card Nowhttp://mgoblog.com/content/mailbag-recruiting-outperformance-apr-and-hardship-logistics-burn-card-now
<p><strong>Recruiting rankings and outperformance</strong></p>
<p><img title="10468443093_4e4fbf765e_z" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="10468443093_4e4fbf765e_z" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_A6BE/10468443093_4e4fbf765e_z.jpg" width="564" height="432" /></p>
<p align="center"><em>[Bryan Fuller]</em></p>
<blockquote><p>Good afternoon –</p>
<p><u></u><u></u></p>
<p>Beilein has developed a reputation for being a stellar recruiter. He is now known for uncovering basketball players who were either lightly regarded, lightly recruited, unknown, or young, so that they grew and developed significantly after he recruited them. (Burke, Rahkman, Dawkins, Albrecht, LeVert, and now Moritz Wagner all fall into this category.)&#160; I will be interested to see how Harbaugh and his staff correlate to Beilein in this regard. In one sense, every fan wants every recruit who comes in to be a 4 or 5 star rated recruit. But the reality is that the coaches sometimes see things that the rating experts missed. This has been an on-going discussion: how much do stars matter? I think the correlation of Wagner and Kingston Davis committing today brought this topic to my mind.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u><u></u></p>
<p>So, my questions and requests for you: <u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u>1) <u></u>I’d love to see a table showing recruiting ranking vs. actual performance. Who ends up bring in recruits who significantly outperform their ranking, who brings in recruits who perform the way expected, and who brings in recruits who underperform, relative to how they were ranked.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is too hard to do for basketball since there are very small and wildly varying recruiting classes. Last year Michigan brought in six players; this year it looks like it will be just one. A couple years ago Ohio State's recruiting class was… nobody. The attrition rates are wildly different so recruiting rankings, which always favor volume, are going to be skewed. You can point to anecdotes like Beilein turning fringe top 100 recruits into lottery picks on the regular; I don't think it's possible to do anything systematic with the numbers.</p>
<p>Football does give you a reasonable baseline to work with and this has been done by Ross Benes at Deadspin. You will be unsurprised to find Michigan where it is in a study that covers 2009 to 2013:</p>
<p><img title="image" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_A6BE/image.png" width="534" height="560" /></p>
<p>I am a bit skeptical about the methodology here, as it doesn't seem to account for the fact that there's nowhere to go but down for the teams at the top of the rankings. (It also doesn't take last year into account, which is why Michigan State isn't in the Wisconsin zone.) But it's still good for comparing you to your peers and the result is undeniable: amongst teams that recruit like Michigan, only Tennessee and maybe UCLA perform worse; Miami is on par. </p>
<blockquote><p>2) <u></u>The followup question would be to assess how much of this is attributable to a recruit being ranked accurately and appropriately, and much is attributable to the recruit’s development in college. The knock on Hoke wasn’t recruiting:&#160; it was the belief that he didn’t develop players to perform to the best of their capability.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u><u></u></p>
<p>Thanks, best regards, and enjoy the balance of the Spring.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u><u></u></p>
<p>Steve Kass</p>
</blockquote>
<p>No doubt it is some of both. Recruiting rankings are necessarily ignorant of a number of things that will influence the development of the player—ACL stability for one. But it's clear that some guys are awesome teachers able to improve players and others are guys who clap and shout &quot;let's go.&quot; It's nice to see Stanford on the right side of this ledger even after Harbaugh's departure since many of those coaches were his, and he set up the culture that lifted them from the bottom.</p>
<p><strong>APR logistics</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Brian:</p>
<p>I think that perhaps I don't understand what goes into the APR and was hoping you could help me understand.&#160; I thought (although it appears incorrectly) that APR measured the percent of a school's players with remaining eligibility that return to school, maintain that eligibility academically, and/or graduate.&#160; With 7 Kentucky players declaring for the draft (following several years of many more declaring), it would appear that Kentucky couldn't possibly evade APR penalties because legions of eligible players have not and will not be returning to school.&#160; Is there an exception for going pro that I'm unaware of?&#160; Is Kentucky's APR really only measured by whether their mop up players stay eligible and graduate, without regard to the majority of the team that goes pro?</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Evan</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That is correct. The APR has a loophole for players who leave school early for pro sports. You don't even have to get drafted to take advantage of it—NCAA-sanctioned UConn men's basketball <a href="http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9810748/uconn-huskies-expect-post-perfect-academic-progress-rate-basketball">started digging out with a perfect score this year</a> despite a player leaving for Europe. He signed a contract overseas and left in &quot;good academic standing,&quot; so he doesn't hurt UConn's APR. </p>
<p>As a result of that loophole all Kentucky has to do is gin up some Cs for the NCAA minimum progress toward a degree and their APR is untouched. It's probably in fact easier for them to comply with APR stuff because all they have to do is get their kids to go to Easy Class 101. Few end up having to move on to We Kind Of Need You To Pay Attention Now 386. </p>
<p>On the one hand, you need that exception because it's not the school's fault if, say, Nik Stauskas blows up into a top ten pick and wants to go get paid millions of dollars. On the other it does enable the travelling circus that is the current one-and-done system. </p>
<p><strong>Medical hardship logistics</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Hey Brian -- </p>
<p>Recently there's been significant attention paid to key questions facing Michigan basketball this offseason (Will Levert go pro?&#160; Will Jaylen Brown commit? etc.).&#160; All of the discussion seems to operate under the premise that either Austin Hatch will continue to take up one of the 13 scholarships the team has to hand out, or the team will place him under &quot;medical hardship.&quot;&#160; I have two questions.</p>
<p>1) What does this medical hardship entail?&#160; Would it be 100% career-ending?&#160; Would he no longer be able to practice and play with the team?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A medical hardship allows the school to continue giving the kid a full scholarship. It would end his playing career at Michigan. He could still be affiliated with the team, could still practice (there's no regulations on who you practice with in college; womens' teams will often go up against guys). He could not get in the game. He would be a student manager, basically. </p>
<p>Michigan might be able to get a waiver for senior day.</p>
<blockquote><p>2) Why has there been no discussion of freeing up Hatch's scholarship to use on, say, Jaylen Brown or Mike Edwards, by making him a walk-on?&#160; I'm assuming there are other ways the University can make sure all his tuition bills are paid for.&#160; At the very least, paying for Hatch to go to Michigan is worthy of $200K of the millions of dollars the athletic department has gotten from Stephen Ross or Al Glick. </p>
<p>In other words, maybe we don't have to choose between keeping Hatch on the basketball team and bringing in another scholarship player of Jaylen Brown's caliber, should LeVert choose to come back.</p>
<p>Thanks, <br />Jack</p>
<p>M 2012</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Once you've been on scholarship, you count as a scholarship player even if your money supposedly comes from a source than the athletic department. </p>
<p>There are in fact certain things that you can do when you are just a recruit that make you count as a scholarship player, something that football teams have been dancing around of late with this &quot;<a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/story?id=10431213">blueshirt</a>&quot; thing where kids arrive on campus as walk-ons. Those kids can't take officials or they end up counting against the limit of 25 signees annually. </p>
<p>Again, this is a situation where Michigan might be able to get a waiver since it's very high profile. Without that Michigan cannot use Hatch's scholarship without disqualifying him from playing. </p>
<p><strong>Buy it and burn it.</strong> </p>
<blockquote><p>Brian,</p>
<p>I am <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/2015-UPPER-DECK-DEVIN-GARDNER-MICHIGAN-QB-SWEET-SPOT-HELMET-SSP-VARIATION-/381218403521?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&amp;hash=item58c26334c1">so upset about this</a> I had to share...</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img title="$_57[1]" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="$_57[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_A6BE/_571.jpg" width="564" height="319" /></p>
<blockquote><p>The above Ebay link is for a new Devin Gardner card with a sick &amp; twisted &quot;variation&quot; of the winged helmet. This just is not right! I don't see how Upper Deck can get away with messing with our helmet design and printing this card.</p>
<p>Ed McArdle</p>
<p>Saginaw, MI</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Is that a sugar cookie made by a deranged aunt on the card? Why is anyone making a Devin Gardner rookie card and is it even slightly possible that any of the bids on this travesty are legitimate? Supposedly this card is up to 16.05 with four different bidders. This makes me want to find a WIRED article about the shady lives of professional EBay sellers or something. I have a million questions. </p>
<p><strong>Nah</strong></p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/mgoblog">@mgoblog</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AceAnbender">@AceAnbender</a> Harbaugh just tweeted support for Sniper.Will you,Ace &amp; the other slacker hacktivists at AA call for his resignation?</p>
<p> — A2Forever (@AnnArborRules) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnArborRules/status/585983776674738176">April 9, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>Gonna go with &quot;no&quot; on this one. </p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/mailbag-recruiting-outperformance-apr-and-hardship-logistics-burn-card-now#comments100% worst thing everaustin hatchi get emails sometimesmailbagrecruiting rankings are a gravely serious matteruniformzacademic progress rateFri, 10 Apr 2015 16:43:00 +0000Brian96780 at http://mgoblog.comThis Week's Obsession: The Right Aways?http://mgoblog.com/content/weeks-obsession-right-aways
<p align="center"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/1974OSUBell.jpg"><img title="1974OSUBell" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="1974OSUBell" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/1974OSUBell_thumb.jpg" width="133" height="349" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/rn_u_jimharbaugh_1986_ms_400.jpg"><img title="rn_u_jimharbaugh_1986_ms_400" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="rn_u_jimharbaugh_1986_ms_400" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/rn_u_jimharbaugh_1986_ms_400_thumb.jpg" width="122" height="349" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/tom-Brady-alabama-thumb-646x511-120886.jpg"><img title="tom-Brady-alabama-thumb-646x511-120886" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="tom-Brady-alabama-thumb-646x511-120886" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/tom-Brady-alabama-thumb-646x511-120886_thumb.jpg" width="130" height="349" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/10268885246_85b25daf30_k.jpg"><img title="10268885246_85b25daf30_k" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="10268885246_85b25daf30_k" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/10268885246_85b25daf30_k_thumb.jpg" width="125" height="349" /></a></p>
<p align="center"><em><font size="2">Spoiler: nobody answers &quot;the bumblee ones&quot; (and lives)</font></em></p>
<p><strong>The Question:</strong></p>
<p>With all the uniform-related news going around this week, I thought I'd ask about Michigan football's road jerseys, the not-so-constant in what's otherwise been a remarkably consistent wardrobe. Which of Michigan's road uniforms would you prefer they wear? Would you make any tweaks to a past look? Alternates—looking at you, Sugar Bowl uniforms—are very much eligible.</p>
<p align="center">--------------------------------------</p>
<p><strong>The Responses:</strong></p>
<table bordercolor="#ffffff" width="10" align="right" border="5">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td bgcolor="#ffffff"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/practice.jpg"><img title="practice" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="practice" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/practice_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="331" /></a></td>
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<td><font size="2" face="Calibri">Not sure of original source; Adam <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/road-jerseys-trim-or-not-trim">found it on the board</a>.</font></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Adam Schnepp:</strong> Ah, yes, Michigan's ever-changing road uniform. The wearable lab where the apparel supplier can tweak and tinker and see what whets the appetite of the jersey-buying masses.</p>
<p>My ideal road uniform is one that Michigan's essentially already wearing in practice (at right). I love the look of the all-navy numbers, but I'd add the blue-maize-blue shoulder striping Michigan wore from the mid-70s to the 90s.​</p>
<p>I know Ace mentioned alternates as candidates for primary road jerseys, but in a world where multiple night games are likely it's hard to think alternates go away so I'll pick one of those while I'm at it. If Michigan wants to wear a &quot;legacy&quot; jersey on the road let's make it:</p>
<p>1) something they actually, you know, wore</p>
<p>2) something that integrates the wolverbear:</p>
<p><i><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/1962.jpg"><img title="1962" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="1962" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/1962_thumb.jpg" width="483" height="291" /></a></i></p>
<p align="center"><i><font size="2">[Via the </font><a href="http://mvictors.com/uniform-timeline/"><font size="2">MVictors Uniform Timeline</font></a><font size="2">]</font></i></p>
<p>Go back to 1962 and there it is: block M on the sleeves, wolverbear on a patch, otherwise clean design. A legacy jersey I might actually buy despite knowing that I usually look like a doofus in jerseys.</p>
<p><strong>[after the JUMP: we take piping very seriously]</strong></p>
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<td bgcolor="#ffffff"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/SethandAdams.jpg"><img title="SethandAdams" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="SethandAdams" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/SethandAdams_thumb.jpg" width="244" height="476" /></a></td>
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<td><font size="2" face="Calibri">The Adam Plan.</font></td>
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</p><p> <strong>Seth: </strong>My first choice would be for Michigan to wear the blues wherever possible, or maybe just for OSU and MSU (I realize this gets weird if you can't get blue or black teams to wear alternates). Weird is good, and I don't mind the admittedly arrogant suggestion that Michigan's a home team wherever we play (at some Big Ten stadiums this is true).</p>
<p>Second choice would be another vote for the Schnepp Plan, sans Wolverbear. When I saw those in practice I thought they looked way more Michigan than anything we've worn since.I wouldn't even use shoulder stripes. Without all the stripes to offset, your eye is drawn to the blue numbers and the yellow pants. Going classic is usually going boring, but Michigan is certainly among the few schools that could pull off a statement like &quot;we're the yellow and blue team...of sports.&quot; Anyway the helmets have enough going on for the rest to be an understatement.</p>
<p>Yellow, by the way, should be that goldenish color of American corn (there's a name for this) that's been faded by the sun.</p>
<p>My last request—and this goes for all the jerseys—is the numbers should be way larger. This was an Ohio State thing that Bo brought to Michigan in 1969: make the numbers extra large, like as huge as the shirts can take. Kinda puts an extra scare in the minds of teams coming to play the old power program.</p>
<p align="center">--------------------------------------</p>
<p align="left"><strong>Dave Nasternak: </strong>Probably my favorite Michigan road uniform is from the 2000 Orange Bowl (still would LOVE to own a white #10 with an Orange Bowl patch). The blue numbers outlines in maize and both colors trimming the edges with Block Ms on the sleeves...really liked those.</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/tom-Brady-alabama-thumb-646x511-120886_0.jpg"><img title="tom-Brady-alabama-thumb-646x511-120886" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="tom-Brady-alabama-thumb-646x511-120886" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/tom-Brady-alabama-thumb-646x511-120886_thumb_0.jpg" width="454" height="360" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Nike also did some experimenting over the next few years with adding a maize stripe down the side and worked in some maize piping. All of those were fine, for the most part. They were generally pretty clean and the differences were rather minimal. I get that marketing will want to make slight adjustments to sell &quot;this year's&quot; jersey. That's fine, I guess. Like most other MGoContributors, though, I wasn't a huge fan of most of the alternate jerseys over the past few seasons.</p>
<p>I suppose if I had to choose one, perhaps the Alabama 2012 uniforms? I wouldn't want these to be the primary road uniforms, but I would probably be fine with them being worn once every couple/few years.</p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/Michigan-uniforms-Alabama-game.jpg"><img title="Michigan-uniforms-Alabama-game" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="Michigan-uniforms-Alabama-game" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/Michigan-uniforms-Alabama-game_thumb.jpg" width="504" height="277" /></a></p>
<p>As far as the Legends Jerseys go, I'm with Brian in that I liked the idea as a whole. I think the implementation could be a little better (more infrequent use, maybe only Seniors? only 2-3 at a time?). Also, what about helmet numbers every so often? Maybe once out of 4 years?</p>
<p align="center">--------------------------------------</p>
<p align="left"><strong>Ace:</strong> I really liked the look of the Sugar Bowl uniforms, which are what I had in mind when I mentioned alternates:</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/denard-robinson-thumb-590x391-98885.jpg"><img title="010312_SPT_Sugar_Bowl_MRM" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="010312_SPT_Sugar_Bowl_MRM" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/denard-robinson-thumb-590x391-98885_thumb.jpg" width="504" height="335" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Remove the helmet numbers and the patches, make the uniform numbers a bit wider—perhaps by getting rid of the maize trim—and I think those are pretty great: clean, sharp, and simple but not Penn State simple. I'm a big fan of those shoulder stripes.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I'm down with something along the lines of what Adam suggests. I liked the simplicity of the <a href="http://cache4.asset-cache.net/gc/72735470-wide-receiver-adrian-arrington-of-the-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&amp;c=IWSAsset&amp;k=2&amp;d=OCUJ5gVf7YdJQI2Xhkc2QLjAuVj2i%2BTSg5rqqsbTgnuXALCERg7QZ%2BgGIR3m8MDe">last Nike away jerseys</a> before Michigan made the switch to Adidas, if only they'd done away with the pointless maize piping. While I have remarkably fond memories of the 1997-2000 era uniforms that Dave posted, I think they've got just a little bit too much going on—and, with today's short, tight sleeves, the block-M emblazoned, double-piped shoulders probably wouldn't look nearly as good as they did back then.</p>
<p align="center">--------------------------------------</p>
<p><strong>Brian: </strong>I'm with Ace on this one: when the Sugar Bowl uniforms (no Z!) were announced, my immediate thought was &quot;I wouldn't mind it if those were the permanent road jerseys.&quot; It strikes a nice balance between busy and plain that I don't think any of the other options have.&#160; </p>
<p>The plain whites are really plain; the Brady whites have a tiny bit too much frippery. I'm not a huge fan of the multi-hued block M on a white background. (The Block M on the pants is perfect and should stand as the only one on the uniforms, IMO.) The white and maize next to each other are a bit confusing visually. The large blue stripes on the Sugar jerseys give them a tiny bit of a winged helmet effect and are large, clear design elements. Dump the patches and helmet numbers and it's a winner.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/weeks-obsession-right-aways#commentsthis week's obsessionuniformsuniformzWed, 25 Mar 2015 19:02:20 +0000Seth96380 at http://mgoblog.comUnverified Voracity Smells A Phonehttp://mgoblog.com/content/unverified-voracity-smells-phone
<p><strong>HELLO</strong>. I am back. I was blank yesterday after being in a car for like 14 hours, but here are some links to other things.</p>
<p><img title="KenRequest[1]" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="KenRequest[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/d8e7e2c96a9d_B36E/KenRequest1.jpg" width="404" height="385" /></p>
<p align="center"><em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon,_Iowa">According to Wikipedia</a>, I have been to the place where this was conceived.</em></p>
<p><strong>Things I learned in Iowa</strong>. A sampling.</p>
<ol>
<li>Iowa is not as flat as Nebraska </li>
<li>…but it's close </li>
<li>…and it's really surprisingly large when you have to drive from one corner to the other </li>
<li>Do not smell a pig farmer's phone </li>
<li>…especially if he's presenting it you to like the natives might present Dr. Livingstone an eyeball to consume </li>
<li>…even if he looks stunningly like Dr. Drew </li>
<li>David Foster Wallace was not joking about the omnipresence of the howling mid-American gale that scours pockets from your face when there are shards of ice to fling at you </li>
<li>…this does at least keep the roads clear </li>
<li>You can be relieved and grateful to see a Subway </li>
</ol>
<p>This is maybe not enough things to justify the time spent but needs must.</p>
<p><strong>Here are all these things and then a school that's like NOPE</strong>. As Ace covered this morning, there's another uniform hijink in the near future. (Can hijinks be singular?) The basketball uniforms aren't iconic like football, so the proportional outrage is lower. I'm still bugged by the fact that Adidas is coming up with one design element and applying it to everyone because they want to advertise themselves, with no thought to how they could help Michigan out. </p>
<p>Yeah yeah</p>
<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/77Y6CIyyBcI" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Michigan did draw the line at Adidas's Zubaz monstrosities a few years back, so at least there's that. </p>
<p>Still, I'm jealous that Indiana's the uniform in the center going NOPE here: </p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet"><p>Michigan's shorts ... RT <a href="https://twitter.com/adidasHoops">@adidasHoops</a>: History is Made in March. Introducing the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MadeInMarch?src=hash">#MadeInMarch</a> uniform collection. <a href="http://t.co/vsIRtvhzEQ">pic.twitter.com/vsIRtvhzEQ</a></p>
<p> — Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickbaumgardner/status/570962832046493697">February 26, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p><em>&quot;We have seen your ideas and find them lacking.&quot; –university that employs Tom Crean.</em></p>
<p>I wish we had the desire to do that. And the desire to go back to the 1989 throwbacks permanently. </p>
<p><img title="B7BKitwCQAAn6p3[1]" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="B7BKitwCQAAn6p3[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/d8e7e2c96a9d_B36E/B7BKitwCQAAn6p31.jpg" width="564" height="319" /></p>
<p><em>&quot;These throwbacks appear to be jerseys Michigan actually used to wear. They just don't get it, do they?&quot; –The Brandon formerly known as athletic director</em> </p>
<p><strong>A seven footer!</strong> 2016 C commit Jon Teske was supposed to be growing constantly, as high school people tend to do, and now he's broken through a symbolic threshold: </p>
<blockquote><p>Jon Teske has grown 1 inch since verbally committing to play basketball at Michigan back in early August.</p>
<p>This would be trivial if not for one fact: When Teske enrolls in 2016, he will officially be U-M's first 7-foot player since Ben Cronin, the first recruit coach John Beilein signed when he arrived in Ann Arbor eight years ago.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Teske is reportedly a shot blocker, something Michigan hasn't had since Beilein arrived. </p>
<blockquote><p>Other than adding strength and bulk and improving his quickness in the lane, Teske's defensive skills are already at an elite level. He provides Medina with a safety net on the back line and blocks shots with a combination of a pterodactyl's wingspan and sharp instincts. Most impressively, he does so without fouling.</p>
<p>&quot;The number of shots he changes is just unbelievable,&quot; Hassinger said. &quot;That's what Michigan will get out of him -- he's such a good rim-protector. ... We can do so much defensively because he just rules the paint.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yes, please. </p>
<p><strong>Would you go so far as to say he is also strategic?</strong> Jedd Fisch gets in on the Jameis Winston praise pile:</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet"><p>George Whitfield said Jedd Fisch really wowed Jameis &amp; Bryce Petty on their time at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Michigan?src=hash">#Michigan</a>: &quot;He was very tactical but also dynamic.&quot;</p>
<p> — Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/BruceFeldmanCFB/status/568077275138121728">February 18, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>Sounds like a man to play Battletech with. Meanwhile, another quote on Harbaugh from Petty:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;Outstanding guy,&quot; Petty said. &quot;Just a football dude. That's the best way I can describe it. He just gave us a lot of advice about what to expect here (at the combine), about how to handle everything, especially going in as a rookie into a camp and what he expects as a coach in that scenario, things like that.</p>
<p>&quot;We were tickled to death, anytime you get a chance to meet and talk to a guy who has been in it for four years and had a lot of success in it.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Harbaugh is definitely a Football Dude, as anyone who has watched <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7-9kQJ1_sI">that QB clinic video</a> and giggled about knuckle placement knows. </p>
<p><strong>Marketing back in the day</strong>. Gary Moeller repeats &quot;keeps ticket prices down&quot; three times in about 30 seconds at the end of this clip about marketing from a 1991 edition of Michigan Replay:</p>
<p align="center"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BKGYdgz29oM" frameborder="0" width="420" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>The word &quot;brand&quot; does not make an appearance.</p>
<p><strong>We like this better because it doesn't work as well</strong>. It's that time of year when NFL guys ding spread QBs because their offenses provide too many open receivers to judge whether the guy can fit it in tight windows: </p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet"><p>Ignore NFL translation, isn't this weird? Prostyle is better because it produces less open guys/doesn't work as well? <a href="http://t.co/wfChgwGzdN">pic.twitter.com/wfChgwGzdN</a></p>
<p> — Chris B. Brown (@smartfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/smartfootball/status/571067225433612288">February 26, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>I think the NFL guy was saying that tight windows are an inevitability in the league rather than pro-style is necessarily better. (Or even a concept that really means much other than Our QB Don't Run. New England is basically Texas Tech with a separate LeGarrette Blount offense stapled to it.)</p>
<p><strong>And stay out?</strong> CHL teams are <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/if-junior-operators-cant-afford-a-reasonable-wage-its-time-to-shut-down/">making noises</a> like they would withdraw from Washington if their for-profit enterprises with mid five-digit attendances have to give their players anything other than a per diem and the vague promise of an education package maybe a sixth of them will use: </p>
<blockquote><p>Silvertips GM Garry Davidson was clearly singing from the same songbook when he told legislators if the state did not exempt the teams from minimum wage laws, “it could negatively impact our ability to operate and would force us to move or not operate in the state.”It’s an age-old tactic used by sports teams and it’s age-old because it so often works. Build us a new arena or we’ll go to a place where they’ll happily build one for us. Give us tax breaks and concessions or we’ll have to pick up our ball and go somewhere else. And in this case, grant us an exemption from laws governing the basic human right to minimum wage or we’ll take our teenagers and have them entertain hockey fans somewhere else.</p>
<p>Oh really? Considering the Everett Silvertips (4,898 average fans per game), Spokane Chiefs (5,570), Seattle Thunderbirds (4,353) and Tri-City Americans (3,976) are attracting decent home crowds, it’s safe to assume the revenue they’re drawing from their regular season gate alone is robust. Probably multi-millions.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A CHL departure from Washington is about as likely as the Big Ten re-implementing freshman eligibility. There aren't enough markets in BC and Alberta that aren't already covered. Meanwhile on the other side of the continent, a QMJHL team just sold for 25 million dollars.</p>
<p>Silver lining: it turns out there is in fact a sports organization that can make the NCAA look good.</p>
<p><strong>Obligatory</strong>. Ohio State has a five star recruit incoming.</p>
<p><iframe height="270" src="http://www.theonion.com/videos/embed?id=2244" frameborder="no" width="480" name="embedded" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>This is man with a good super power.</strong> Michigan Hockey Now <a href="http://mihockeynow.com/2015/02/mag-you-should-know-nick-pastujov/">pings</a> commit Nick Pastujov about various personal things. He has never gone to a concert, he likes the World Cup, he envisions having a hilarious dinner with Bill Gates, Steve Carrell, and Bob Marley, and he has a very practical approach to super powers: &quot;could do anything.&quot; That just about covers it, I'd think. </p>
<p><strong>Etc.:</strong> Kentucky fans <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/2/25/8112221/when-keeping-it-real-goes-wrong">are terrified of Northwestern</a>. </p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/unverified-voracity-smells-phone#commentsgary moelleri am a spread zealot no fooliesiowajedd fischjim harbaugh is a football dudejon teskejunior vs ncaa: fight!money money moneynick pastujovohio stateuniformzunverified voracityFri, 27 Feb 2015 16:28:43 +0000Brian95733 at http://mgoblog.comAdidas Unveils Postseason Uniformzhttp://mgoblog.com/content/adidas-unveils-postseason-uniformz
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8594/16652870731_f56aa26b6c.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 500px;" /><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/DrewCHallett/status/570962828946878464" target="_blank"><em>via Drew Hallett</em></a></p>
<p>Adidas released a group of alternate jerseys for the college hoops postseason today, including the uniforms Michigan will wear for both the Big Ten Tournament and, most likely, the NIT.</p>
<p>I&#39;ll withhold total judgment until I see these on an actual human, but they could be a lot worse, especially given adidas&#39; standards. Remember, Michigan turned down that <a href="https://usatthebiglead.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/adidas-sleeve-uniforms.jpg" target="_blank">horrible zubaz concept</a> a couple years ago. At least these have normal looking tops and understated shoes; the shorts would probably look pretty sharp if not for the whole two-tone thing, which is unfortunately the selling point of the uniforms.</p>
<p>Anyway, you&#39;ll see these on Michigan for the conference tourney and maybe a handful of postseason games, and then we&#39;ll all forget this ever happened.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/adidas-unveils-postseason-uniformz#commentsadidasuniformzThu, 26 Feb 2015 15:58:25 +0000Ace95698 at http://mgoblog.comDear Diary Wants Somme Morehttp://mgoblog.com/content/dear-diary-wants-somme-more
<p><object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/owLn_S0zaBo?hl=en_US&amp;version=3" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/owLn_S0zaBo?hl=en_US&amp;version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p align="center"><em><font size="2">The running game is going forward again; just another 490 miles to Berlin.</font></em></p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Not with you in charge, sir, no. </strong>So we continue to continue to pretend our problems will ever end. Alum96 showed that Power 5 coaches <a href="http://mgoblog.com/diaries/cc-coaching-tenure-power-5-conferences-schools-low" target="_blank">don't tend to last very long</a>, and Yeoman wrote that <a href="http://mgoblog.com/diaries/coaching-changes-how-do-schools-respond-coach%E2%80%99s-first-losing-season" target="_blank">just 3/43 guys who had a losing season in their first five</a> at a school lost their job for it. The thing: it depends what your historic expectations are. A guy who did a research project on this stuff sent me his paper and is trying to get the data from his old school; we'll address this again.</p>
<p><strong>Wish lists. </strong><a href="http://mgoblog.com/diaries/cc-what-i-want-coach-quotes" target="_blank">Ron Utah</a> and <a href="http://mgoblog.com/diaries/reading-tea-leaves-2014-creates-cc-wishlist" target="_blank">Eye of the Tiger</a> both posted what they're looking for in coaching candidates. Both are pretty much in favor of guys who run modern offenses, which is everybody but Shaw at this point.</p>
<p><strong>More candidates. </strong>Bud Foster <a href="http://mgoblog.com/diaries/cc-where-we-stand-part-vii-pruitt-and-foster" target="_blank">and Georgia DC Jeremy Pruitt</a> were Ron's latest profiles. I don't think either would come anyway. Foster at least has had commensurate offers for five years and never jumped on them.</p>
<p>A more interesting one: Padog got into <a href="http://mgoblog.com/diaries/cc-doc-holliday-marshall" target="_blank">Doc Holliday</a> (of Marshall) in case a WVU guy wants another shot at mentioning Don Nehlan's Bo connection at his intro (and position himself as the Bo to Urban's Woody). This one's a bit of a reach; his head coaching experience is Marshall, which was 7-6 the year before he arrived and went 5-7, 7-6, 5-7, 10-4 since. He's currently 7-0 and hasn't scored less than 42 points in a game, but his most impressive victory in all of that time was last week at FIU. I plugged him into my matrix and <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tylWK2nCYBJLxkekmp7bGBF5HQ5gBIJdSKP6eOMb--Y/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">came up with a 42</a>: more attractive than Hoke but more of a gamble than Bo was.</p>
<p><strong>Etc. </strong>Padog is also doing the bottom to top hoops preview redux (he was at it way early this year). <a href="http://mgoblog.com/diaries/rutgers-basketball-preview" target="_blank">First up is Rutgers</a>. Wolverines <a href="http://mgoblog.com/diaries/wolverines-nfl-week-7" target="_blank">in the NFL</a>.</p>
<h3>Best of the Board</h3>
<p><strong>WE'RE STILL BETTER AT CLEVER</strong></p>
<p>Brian covered the painting of the <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/block-m-has-been-painted-green" target="_blank">Diag's block 'M':</a></p>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/B0iXnscIQAENdNl.jpg"><img title="B0iXnscIQAENdNl" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="B0iXnscIQAENdNl" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/B0iXnscIQAENdNl_thumb.jpg" width="454" height="342" /></a></p>
<p>If you're wondering where was that one frat (Theta Xi) whose couch vigil usually prevents this sort of thing, <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/block-m-has-been-painted-green#comment-2760802" target="_blank">they asked a university admin to go out Tuesday</a> and were told to wait until Thursday. Please boo the next person you see on campus wearing a corduroy jacket (if it's not the admin it's probably a hipster who will appreciate the whimsy of your non-sequitur).</p>
<p>As to catching these slightly academically inferior criminals [a fake account representing] the UGLI apparently <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/undergrad-library-slams-sparty" target="_blank">can identify the perpetrators in court</a>:</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet"><p>We should've seen the vandalization of the Diag M coming. Last night some State students came in and asked our librarians how to spell 'MSU'</p>
<p> — Shapiro Undergrad (@UMichUGLI) <a href="https://twitter.com/UMichUGLI/status/524932784809582592">October 22, 2014</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>Police are stationed outside all MSU bluebook exams, and questioning anyone who fails.</p>
<p>I've heard they got the rock too, which: whatevers. I painted the rock 8 or 10 times in college (the building behind it was my fraternity's historic building and our crests are still on the gates), and every time we went to do so, it was various stages of still wet from the last paint job; half the time it was painted over again before the weekend was out.</p>
<p><strong>[Jump: the pink discussion]</strong></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><p><strong>YEAH WE'RE PROBABLY NOT AVOIDING THE 'LITTLE SISTER!' CHANT THIS WEEK</strong></p>
<p align="left">Stipulated: we are all against cancer, and most of us have been affected by it. Also stipulated: charitable organizations that try to do things that help more people survive cancer are good. Within that framework, we disagree on things like which charity is the best, and whether certain forms of promotion are worthwhile.</p>
<p align="left">We also disagree whether it's necessary to have this stuff all over football…</p>
<p align="center"><strong><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/B0j8d-uCIAA4rrn.png"><img title="B0j8d-uCIAA4rrn" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="B0j8d-uCIAA4rrn" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/B0j8d-uCIAA4rrn_thumb.png" width="285" height="203" /></a><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/ADC1431.jpg"><img title="ADC1431" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="ADC1431" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/ADC1431_thumb.jpg" width="215" height="215" /></a></strong></p>
<p>…or if maybe the &quot;let's look like we care&quot; factor is stronger than the &quot;let's actually do some good factor,&quot; with an uncomfortably sizeable &quot;let's make money by selling the gear&quot; factor.</p>
<p>Because Michigan had to wear all-blue UNIFORMZ the week other schools were doing that annual wearing pink for breast cancer awareness thing, Michigan <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/leaders-and-breasts-michigan-don-adidas-pink-gear" target="_blank">will be donning the rosy accents this Saturday</a>. I guess everyone figured the denizens of Spartan Stadium could be mature about it.</p>
<p>That thread has a debate on the merits The Susan G. Komen Foundation it supports. I tried to get some good information from various internet places because there's been some backlash in the sports world.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&amp;orgid=4509#.VEpeW_nF_To" target="_blank">Charity Navigator</a> is a good starting point, and they give Komen an 82 on a 100 scale (B-). The knock on them is the % of money spent on fundraising has skyrocketed. The knock on the street is that they bully other organizations, trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to get the pink thing all to themselves. The other knock is they got embroiled in partisan politics when they temporarily cut their funding to Planned Parenthood. In general they're more about early diagnosis (offering free exams, etc.) than scientific research to cure it, at least in comparison to the other major breast cancer charities. If you're motivated to use your replaceable income to fight breast cancer, I recommend <a href="http://www.breastcancer.org/" target="_blank">Breastcancer.org</a> and UM's <a href="https://leadersandbest.umich.edu/find/#/med/umhs-ccc" target="_blank">Comprehensive Cancer Center</a> over Komen.</p>
<p>Here's what I'd like to see Michigan (and the local pro teams) do: offer a handful of well-screened charities from their main site with a few basics for comparison, and have level goals for overall fundraising tied to amount of pink the team wears that week. Hit the top level and your team wears normal uniforms, fall just short it's the accessories, fall way short and the jerseys and pants and helmets fall in order. The team offers to pay the sum of the shortfall.</p>
<p><strong>INTERPRETATIONS</strong></p>
<p>Sometimes board threads say one thing and the story says another. Here's what I gathered from various posts this week:</p>
<ul>
<li>Saban is trying to send <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/positive-story-jourdan-lewis-detroit-free-press" target="_blank">transfer vibes to Jourdan Lewis</a>. </li>
<li>Michigan's expected recruiting class of 15 <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/players-taking-medicals-ed-s-or-non-renew-5ths-or-transfers" target="_blank">still expects to come in around 15</a>. </li>
<li>Various people want to know if that &quot;<a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/m-denies-foia-request-wd-email" target="_blank">find another team</a>&quot; email WD posted awhile back <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-there-possible-juicy-news" target="_blank">actually came from Brandon</a>. </li>
<li>Mullen may be <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/cc-si-speculates-ccs-nationally-says-past-relationship-means-mullen-low-probability-uf" target="_blank">the Les Miles of Florida</a>'s impending coaching search.</li>
<li>Irish tears <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-sour-brian-kelly-disputes-late-penalty-cost-irish-game" target="_blank">over totally correct calls</a> because they aren't made 100% of the time are yummy. <a href="http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m32/RTA24/outofbounds.jpg" target="_blank">Always</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_USC_vs._Notre_Dame_football_game" target="_blank">Always</a>. <a href="http://www.sportsgrid.com/ncaa-football/notre-dame-may-have-been-screwed-out-of-two-early-calls-and-the-world-is-ending/" target="_blank">Always</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>THE STARFISH OF BADLY TITLED THREADS</strong></p>
<p>Once in awhile a board newb will post a thread uninformatively headed &quot;Harbaugh&quot; or &quot;Sausage&quot; or &quot;Thing&quot; because they just want to start a discussion, and this gets moderated because that's not how the board works. So the mods killed a &quot;Peppers&quot; one, and it spawned &quot;<a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/sports" target="_blank">Sports</a>.&quot; Which spawned &quot;<a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/title-0" target="_blank">Title</a>.&quot; Which got locked to put an end to this crap. Which spawned &quot;<a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/siap-title" target="_blank">SIAP: Title</a>.&quot;</p>
<p>This is why you shouldn't venture onto the internet after dark.</p>
<p>(SIAP = sorry if already posted)</p>
<p><strong>ETC. </strong>People <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/michigan-football-confessions-i-was-wrong" target="_blank">admitting they were wrong</a> to be optimistic thread. </p>
<p><strong>Your Moment of Zen:</strong></p>
<p>Rule #1, there's always the improbable:</p>
<p><iframe class="imgur-embed" height="357" src="http://i.imgur.com/cIaawrf.gifv#embed" frameborder="0" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<p align="center">HT Ace.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/dear-diary-wants-somme-more#commentscoaching candidates 2014dear diarydoc hollidaypinktrash talkinguniformzFri, 24 Oct 2014 16:30:16 +0000Seth91333 at http://mgoblog.comMailbag: QB Is Not The Major Problem, Revenue Increases, Oregon's Thinghttp://mgoblog.com/content/mailbag-qb-not-major-problem-revenue-increases-oregons-thing
<p><strong><img title="15515001295_6e752a5621_z" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="15515001295_6e752a5621_z" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_BB6/15515001295_6e752a5621_z.jpg" width="564" height="378" /></strong></p>
<p align="center"><em>[Bryan Fuller]</em></p>
<p><strong>Quarterback is not the only difference.</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Brian,</p>
<p>Something you may not wish to address in season but in watching this team I had this thought:</p>
<p>Solid run defense, inconsistent pass defense, an offensive line with talent struggling to gel, solid backs, receivers and tight ends.&#160; Hmmm, sounds like 9 or 10 wins from Carr again. What is missing is a solid, low turnover, accurate, quarterback. Completely unfair?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Dunder</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Cumong man, that's completely unfair. You're comparing this offensive line to those featuring Jake Long or a half-dozen other NFL players, with zero freshmen of any variety on them unless they're Hutchinson-level talents. The backs don't make the right cuts and almost never make yards on their own. The tight ends are not good right now except for Butt, and Butt is still working his way back from an ACL tear.</p>
<p>There's no part of this team not subject to mental breakdowns that are hard to accept four years in. This includes quarterback, but since it seems like any QB under Hoke goes backwards it all ends in the same place. </p>
<p><strong>BUT IS HE BETTER THAN A WISTFUL ORANGUTAN?</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Brian,</p>
<p>In the wake of the ND game i have found my anger directed more at Dave Brandon than anything for whatever various and stupid reasons. The conventional wisdom seems to be, &quot;hey, but revenues are increasing so, even though football is terrible and the stadium experience is horrible, Dave Brandon is great at growing the business.&quot; I think that is non-sense. I looked at revenues from 2002 through 2013 (graphs and numbers in attached spreadsheet) and the trendline attached to the revenue data shows Brandon has not out performed Bill Martin. Growth in revenue looks very on trend from Martin's tenure.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_BB6/Screen-Shot-2014-09-15-at-12.37.20-PM-1.png"><img title="Screen Shot 2014-09-15 at 12.37.20 PM (1)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2014-09-15 at 12.37.20 PM (1)" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_BB6/Screen-Shot-2014-09-15-at-12.37.20-PM-1_thumb.png" width="564" height="241" /></a></p>
<blockquote><p>If you look at Michigan's AD revenue from 2005 versus some other athletic departments (texas, OSU, florida, Alabama, Oklahoma) our athletic department hasnt outperformed them either. Those five ADs revenue increased 84% from 2005 til 2013, Michigan's increased...83%. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_BB6/Screen-Shot-2014-09-15-at-12.37.45-PM-1.png"><img title="Screen Shot 2014-09-15 at 12.37.45 PM (1)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2014-09-15 at 12.37.45 PM (1)" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Mailbag_BB6/Screen-Shot-2014-09-15-at-12.37.45-PM-1_thumb.png" width="564" height="259" /></a></p>
<blockquote><p>Look, the data i gathered isn't perfect, I don't love the way USA today presented the 2005-2013 data. I've sort of cobbled together the 2002-2004 data from U-M budgets. The way i have presented the data is somewhat problematic (i should index 2005 to 100 then see the changes from there), but I don't think it changes the overall picture.</p>
<p>The point is I am really bothered with the conventional wisdom saying Brandon is doing really well increasing revenue. He is merely riding a wave that started long before here was hired and affects all of college football. Raising ticket prices doesn't make you a business genius. He gets zero credit for increased television revenues, which are the two overwhelming drivers of the whole enterprise. </p>
<p>These are things I am sure you are aware of but i have not seem them articulated on the blog. </p>
<p>Go Blue!</p>
<p>Nate</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It should also be noted that the portion of the surge from 2009 to 2011 not due to increased BTN payouts was largely the luxury boxes coming online. Michigan offered them for cheap the first year and then increased the price to the regular level in year two. </p>
<p>So even if you are measuring Michigan athletic department success by revenue—a completely bonkers thing to do—Brandon is completely average in this department while being literally the worst AD in the country at public relations. A <a href="https://twitter.com/dreegs/status/520630919745798144">wistful orangutan</a> could have been Michigan's athletic director since 2010 and revenue would still be way up. And students would love him! </p>
<p><strong>[After the JUMP: Manning plausible as a CB coach over time? Mysterious red clad team-thing. Where to go in the event of an apocalypse. (The real apocalypse, not bad football.)]</strong></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><blockquote>
<p>Hi Brian,</p>
<p>There's been lots of talk about coaching issues, from the head coach to individual position coaches. Do coaches get better over time? Do they adapt to new concepts, become better playcallers, become better blitzers, etc.? For example, is Roy Manning a great coach who is new to cornerbacks and needs reps in his new gig to become competent and then good? Or will Roy Manning never be a good CBs coach because he hasn’t played the position and there are things you can only learn by playing the position?</p>
<p>Best, </p>
<p>Stephen Bowie</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Manning certainly could become a good CBs coach in time. You see guys flip from one position to others plenty early in their career. Some guys even go from defensive coaches to the other side of the ball—Rich Rodriguez was a defensive back. So it's not out of the question. </p>
<p>Making him a CB coach right before a drastic shift in your defensive philosophy is going to get a cocked eyebrow when it really, really does not work out, as it hasn't. But at least Jourdan Lewis is playing well?</p>
<blockquote><p>Hi Brian et al, </p>
<p>Not that it's really relevant to anything, but I was wondering if you noticed that blotch of fans adorned in red in the southwest corner of the stadium, about halfway up. There must have been 30-40 of them all uniformly wearing red. It seemed like they sat there as statues do, and then left in unison with about 10 minutes left in the game. </p>
<p>Any idea what that was all about? </p>
<p>Thought you might know. </p>
<p>Best,&#160; <br />Ryan</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That was the Fairfield lacrosse team, which was in town to play Michigan and stuck around to watch the football game. </p>
<blockquote><p>Brian,</p>
<p>Longtime read and great blog.&#160; I like UM's tradition uniforms and not a big fan of Oregon or Maryland craziness, but a recent &quot;conversation&quot; offered a different view.</p>
<p>My son (8) and nephews (8 and 11) are really into sports. I asked one of them (who's really into football) who his favorite team is?&#160; Answer:&#160; Oregon.&#160; Why?&#160; They have the coolest uniforms - it's all &quot;swag&quot; (the kids term for bright colored tees, shorts, socks - and they HAVE to be UnderArmour or Nike, no Adidas or Reebok) color.&#160; I saw some link on your blog mentioned the disadvantage of being Adidas, but didn't have to read.&#160; Anyway, hooking kids early like this surely can't hurt a program.&#160; BTW - we're in the Chicago area, where ND and B1G alum rein supreme.&#160; Didn't matter to these kids.</p>
<p>When I flipped on the Boiler/Sparty game on I thought it was some sort of Oregon/MSU rematch when I saw their unis.</p>
<p><img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" /></p>
<p>Chris</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Oregon's marketing works for Oregon. They should do what they do; they had no identity before they became the truck-bed digital-clock-with-wings swagmasters. It makes sense for Oregon. </p>
<p>But if you look at most places that have an identity, they don't do this stuff. The NFL outright prohibits frequent uniform changes and their throwback uniforms actually have to be throwbacks. Meanwhile, alternate uniforms for the college football old guard are either nonexistent or rare and subtle: Texas, USC, Oklahoma, Alabama, Penn State… IIRC these teams have almost never deployed alternates. It is a viable alternative to be you as hard as you can be you. </p>
<p>Michigan's got a thing. Hit up a poll about the best uniforms in college football—hell, in sports—and Michigan's home blues will be high up the list, often #1. They should emphasize their thing, because I've yet to see an alternate uniform that looks as good as the real McCoy. </p>
<blockquote><p>I asked this question on a thread on the board but I thought I'd asked you directly.&#160; Maybe you could shed some light for me.</p>
<p>I know he's been around UofM since Mo, and I'm sure he understands the whole &quot;Michigan Man&quot; thing and what Bo meant to this program, but I'm just sitting here watching the weekend highlights of the different Michigan schools and I see Thomas Rawls. I know he's playing MAC schools and what not but why all of a sudden is Rawls breaking off 121...155...220...229 and 270 now that he is at CMU? When he was even given the chance to be on the field, this guy couldn't find a hole to run through for Michigan.&#160; </p>
<p>Another guy, Mike Cox, couldn't make his way on the field either.&#160; Then he played his last year for UMASS, put together a good enough season to get a look from the pros and now has been playing for the Giants, off and on the practice squad, since he graduated. </p>
<p>Put that with how we haven't had a great running back here since Mike Hart and I wonder if Coach Jackson is really not what he used to be or was he ever that good of a coach? Don't get me wrong I love the quotes over the years you've had had fun with (Jackson talking up recruits), but what keeps him here? Is he that good of a recruiter?</p>
<p>Do you want to see him retained assuming Hoke is canned?&#160; Thanks for any insight you can shed on this.</p>
<p>-RuebenRileyonRye</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I don't know what it is about Fred Jackson that makes him unkillable but I do know that when the zombie apocalypse happens I'm driving to his house and pledging my fealty to to him. </p>
<p>As far as your question, yeah it's looking like he's hung around long past the point at which he's an asset. Tailback performance has been general dismal since Hart's departure and development just about impossible to see in anyone aside from Chris Perry. Meanwhile, the guys Michigan has gone out and recruited have been disappointments since Hart. Drake Johnson can't see the field at all even after Green got knocked out; he was a total flier with an EMU offer before Michigan stepped in for some reason. That Rawls and Cox have performed after leaving is another strike. </p>
<p>There would appear to be no reason to retain him in the event of a changeover, especially with Ty Wheatley and Mike Hart waiting in the wings. But keep him in the athletic department so it survives nuclear war. </p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/mailbag-qb-not-major-problem-revenue-increases-oregons-thing#commentscumong mandave brandonmailbagroy manninguniformzThu, 16 Oct 2014 15:58:40 +0000Brian91152 at http://mgoblog.comFull Uniformz For Penn State Releasedhttp://mgoblog.com/content/full-uniformz-penn-state-released
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/adidasFballUS/status/497898005950136320" target="_blank">At 8:15 on a Friday</a>, so unless they're trying to bury their publicity stunt—not likely—they were blindsided by the catalogs for like the third straight time and released them early because the cat was already out of the bag. It's 2014, guys: the internet is fast.</p>
<p>The cat:</p>
<p><img title="image" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Full-Uniformz-For-Penn-State-Released_12333/image.png" width="436" height="564" /></p>
<p>Goofy numbers were already known, and then the monochrome blue. They're running out of options before they start tossing around all yellow, aren't they? </p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/full-uniformz-penn-state-released#comments2014 penn stateuniformzSat, 09 Aug 2014 00:48:35 +0000Brian88751 at http://mgoblog.comLooks Like Uniformz For Penn Statehttp://mgoblog.com/content/looks-uniformz-penn-state
<p>As caught by an alert Joshua Henschke <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHenschke/status/497795186492076035" target="_blank">on twitter</a>, the latest MDen catalog strongly implies that Michigan will wear alternate uniforms for the Penn State game: </p>
<p><img title="BuiGFSZCAAAQmI4[1]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="BuiGFSZCAAAQmI4[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Looks-Like-Uniformz-For-Penn-State_C0A9/BuiGFSZCAAAQmI41.jpg" width="424" height="564" /></p>
<p>I'm not surprised, I guess. I had just forgotten about the possibility of such a thing and was disappointed to remember we do this now. </p>
<p>I'm sure this will be sold as a throwback to some fictional time in the past when Michigan wore stripey numbers under coach Pterodactyl The Second and won the Big Ten thanks to their velociraptor riders, because Authenticity™.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE</strong>: actually looks like an MGoUser <a href="http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/uniformz-utl-iii-vs-penn-state-jersey" target="_blank">was first to wonder</a>.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/looks-uniformz-penn-state#comments2014 penn statedave brandon creates the futureuniformzFri, 08 Aug 2014 17:46:02 +0000Brian88736 at http://mgoblog.com